How To Learn Sign Language

Interested In Learning Sign Language? Check This Out

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There are many reasons to learn sign language. You might not know it, but American Sign Language is the 4th most studied language at the university level. More than two million people know ASL in the US alone, making it the third most common language in the country, after English and Spanish.

While there are different versions of sign language used around the world, many symbols are shared universally, which makes it a great asset for communicating during travels or foreign work, particularly if you visit any deaf communities. Learning sign language is also a good way to boost your brain function and help with creative thinking and problem-solving.

You’re probably wondering how to get started. If you were born in an English-speaking country, you likely learned to speak English before you learned to read or ride a bike. It just came naturally to you because you had the ability to be immersed in it from birth. As an adult, it can be difficult to learn a new language.

That’s probably why you put off finishing learning Spanish, French, or any other language you studied in school. If you aren’t completely immersed in a language, it’s pretty hard to absorb it enough to speak it fluently. Luckily, there are resources available to you that are designed to help make learning ASL much less stressful.

What you need to know:

It won’t be easy (If it was, they wouldn’t call it “learning”)

Make sure you set aside time to study (You’re not guaranteed to get it the first time)

Practice is key (Having a friend or family member help you is a great idea)

Don’t get discouraged (Learning something new takes time)

There are different dialects of ASL (Don’t assume they are all the same)

The grammar isn’t the same as English

Have fun (Learning anything new should be fun)

There are various resources available to you to help you learn sign language. These include Youtube videos, online courses, various apps, books, and even in-person classes. The easiest way to find the proper resources for you is to do proper research. If you were buying a new car, you wouldn’t just buy the first car that you saw for sale in the want ads, would you? No, you would do the proper amount of research to make such an important financial decision. You’d figure out what kind of car you wanted, what year, how many miles, and so on.

Picking the proper resources for learning ASL is virtually the same. You wouldn’t want to pick the first online class that comes across your browser, pay the fee, only to realize that the class wasn’t at all what you were looking for. Read multiple books, take a look at multiple websites, learn about different in-person classes, and try different apps, before you give away your hard-earned money.

Whenever you start out to learn something new, especially a new language it’s important to set goals and have realistic timelines. Obviously, you’re not going to learn ASL in a day and you can’t just fall asleep with a tape recorder running or memorize a bunch of flash cards to do so.

The only true way to learn ASL is to immerse yourself in it and use it as often as possible. Once you’ve picked the program that’s right for you, you should set a specific date that you would like to complete the course by. Making a schedule that includes benchmarks and dates for when you will complete specific lessons will help you to stay on track and avoid procrastinating.

E-learning Platforms

Years ago, if you had any thoughts of learning a new language or skill, you had to find an organization in your area that offered a course on it. Today, thanks to the internet, we have access to a whole new world of learning. There are countless online resources for someone hoping to learn ASL. Some are free, some have a fee, and some are merely online dictionaries — that are designed to help reinforce the skills you already have. Choosing the right online resource is paramount to your success. Choose the wrong one and you’ll have wasted your valuable time or money.

Pros:

You decide when you learn

There’s no class to go to and you can learn at your own pace

The course can be done from the privacy of your home at your computer

Cons:

Online courses aren’t very interactive

You are the only person accountable for your progress

Since there’s no timeline, the course can take longer

Udemy American Sign Language Level 1

Best For: Someone Interested In ASL 101

The popularity of learning American Sign Language has lead to a plethora of sites and online resources dedicated to this language. One of the best is Udemy and its American Sign Language Level 1 course. There’s no better place to start than at the beginning, and this course was created to give you a solid foundation in American Sign Language. For only $10 you can learn a variety of American Sign Language-related skills, including: fingerspelling, the ASL alphabet, number signs, colors, animals, food and drink, animal signs, important verbs and nouns, and even full sentences. Students also receive materials to use during the course that will be used to practice their skills in vocabulary and full sentences.

StartASL.com

Best For: Someone Who Wants A Little Extra Attention

StartASL is a resource for ASL workbooks, dictionary entries, and videos modeling the alphabet. Best of all, it’s completely free. The site has everything from individual lessons to full classes, with courses perfectly suited for the novice and experienced ASL student. For those who need more help, they also offer one-on-one learning. There are also sections on deaf culture, history, and hearing loss so you can learn more about the hearing impaired community. If you wish to take your learning process offline, StartASL also offers an offline pdf course package. This way you can practice on your laptop without worrying about a reliable internet connection.

ASLPro.com

Best For: Someone Hoping To Brush Up On What They've Learned

Once you’ve taken a basic course, you can brush up on your skills by visiting this site and partaking in a quiz or perusing the ASL dictionary. This site has a dictionary that includes standard vocabulary and simple phrases, as well as challenging games and quizzes to make the learning experience more entertaining. Their mission is to give users free content, help visitors improve their ASL skills, and provide a tool for teachers. All of the website's programs are free, but they do accept donations, which will help in the maintenance of their web page and their program offerings.

SigningSavvy.com

Best For: The Visual Learner

In the simplest terms, SigningSavvy is a website that features thousands of high-resolution videos of American Sign Language signs, fingerspelling, and various other commonly used signs from the US and Canada. In greater terms, it’s a virtual dictionary where you can actually see a person signing the words and phrases that you are attempting to learn. You can watch them over and over again until you have them memorized. Also, the site has a variety of learning tools like the ability to build phrases, create wordlists, share word lists, and create online flashcards. Each video comes with sign information to better explain what the sign is and when it’s appropriate to use it. Like any great resource, SigningSavvy also has a mobile app available for Apple and Android products.

Books

If online classes aren’t your thing, maybe using ASL books is a better option. A simple perusal online will reveal hundreds of ASL books. For those who do use online resources, books can also be a great tool in addition to classes and e-learning courses. Since sign language involves a great deal of visual learning, compared to other languages, a comprehensive ASL guide will become your go-to resource during your learning process.

If you were going to learn Spanish, you’d want to have a dictionary on hand to look up words, right? The same goes for ASL. A translated dictionary is key to learning any new language.

Pros:

Great tool for practice at home

Good for reference

Dictionaries are full of pictures and diagrams

Don’t need wifi to use them

Can do your ASL work anywhere

Easy to pack in your bag when you're on the go

Cons:

Not socially interactive

Can’t see the motions of the signs

More reading, less doing

No teacher to consult for feedback or assistance

Michelle Jay - Don’t Just “Sign”…Communicate! Series

Best For: Students Who Want To Learn More Than Just Grammar

This three-book series includes: A Student’s Guide to American Sign Language and the Deaf Community, A Student’s Guide to Mastering American Sign Language Grammar, and A Student’s Pocket Guide to Deaf Community Terminology. Writer Michelle Jay emphasizes that to truly learn another language you must learn about its community and culture. In these books, you’ll learn about this as well as the grammar, vocabulary, syntax, emotions and everything else you might need to know on your journey to learn ASL.

There are many books on the market designed to help you learn sign language, but few make it as simple and fun as American Sign Language The Easy Way. Heavily illustrated, this book will teach you all about ASL grammar and vocabulary, but it will also explain the technological advancements in the field of hearing impairment. It was designed for teachers, students, and deaf men and women alike. You’ll learn the 10 key grammatical rules of ASL as well as the idea that, even though you might not be aware of it, your facial expressions are also a form of communication. Inside you’ll find over 800 drawings explaining various words, phrases, and full sentences.

Reference books can be confusing. If you don’t actually see someone signing, it can be difficult to wrap your head around how exactly to do them. This dictionary is for those already enrolled in an online (or in person) course. You likely don’t want to attempt to learn sign language with this book, but instead, see it as a supplement to your other learning tools. With this book you can see more than 5,000 different signs, and over 8,000 illustrations with step-by-step instructions on each sign.

In-Person Classes

The internet has made a giant world seem a lot smaller. You can live in Taiwan, Ireland, or South Africa and take college courses in New Hampshire via the internet. But, online courses can only go so far. The only way to truly immerse yourself in ASL is to find an in-person class near where you live. Obviously, class availability is dependent on where you live and how far you’re willing to travel. Taking an in-person class will also require more thought towards scheduling since you will have to attend the class at the assigned time and location. A great benefit that can come from taking an in-person class is that you can practice your sign language with fellow classmates, and get direct feedback from the teacher. The best way to find a course near you is to look at your town or city’s adult learning and community center classes, Groupon, or the courses offered by your local community college or university.

YouTube

One of the best free ASL resources is Youtube. There are countless channels showing the proper hand motions, fingerspelling, and sentence structure. You can watch them at your leisure and brush up on online studies by watching trained ASL instructors. The downside is that they, like how-to videos can only go so far to teach you. You need to practice what you see and use it in real conversations for it to actually make an impact on you.

Sign Language 101

This Youtube video series is a great source for practicing basic sign language vocabulary. With videos showcasing everything from hobbies, and items around the house to pronouns and directions, following along with the clips can serve as a great way to physically learn ASL and improve your movements.

Practice

Once you’ve taken a course (online or in person) and you’ve completed the basic level of ASL, your journey isn’t over just yet. Remember when you took Spanish or French 101 as a youngster? You learned a lot quickly. If you hadn’t moved on to a second, third, and maybe even a fourth year of studies, you wouldn’t have been able to retain much of what you learned. That’s why practice is important. Once you’ve learned a handful (pun intended) of phrases and sentences, you need to practice in the real world. You can do this with a deaf friend or family member or a colleague who also knows ASL. You should also continue your studies. Taking one course or reading one book won’t make you an expert on ASL.

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